Agitator for washing machines



p 1955 J. L. STEPHENS 2,718,775

AGITATOR FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed Dec. 16, 1955 l INVENTOR.

John L. Stephens VLQWM A TTOR/VEY United States Patent r a AGITATOR FORWASHING MACHINES John L. Stephens, Miami, Fla.

Application December 16, 1953, Serial No. 398,482

1 Claim. (Cl. 68--134) This invention relates to an agitator for washingmachines and has for an object to provide an agitator of improvedconstruction and shape so that it will more efficiently agitate and washthe clothes and other materials placed in the washing machine. A furtherobject of this invention is to provide an improved washing machineagitator cast in one piece with integral fins extending from anintegrally formed base and hub, with the fins having a tapered beadalong a specially curved edge so that the agitation of the water is moreintense and the washing action is more eificient and rapid.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an improvedagitator for washing machines wherein the base, the hub, and the fins,are all integrally cast as one piece and with the edges of the finsbeing of such shape and coverage that the most efficient agitation isprovided to the clothing in the washing water. Still a further object ofthis invention is to provide a washing machine agitator wherein there isprovided an integrally cast base, hollow hub, and readily extending finsfrom the base and the hub, the base being of shallow, cone-like hollowconstruction from the center of which emerges the upperly extendinghollow hub, and wherein there are a plurality of radially extending finswhich extend abruptly from the hub and merge smoothly with the base, theupper and lower ends of the bead edge between the hub and the base beingconvex in curvature and the intermediate portions between the two convexportions being concave in curvature, the edge of the fins being providedwith a tapered bead to more thoroughly agitate the water, there beingbeveled apertures to each fin one adjacent each curvature, while the hubitself is apertured both at its upper end and adjacent its lower end soas to eliminate any suction and permit ready removal of the agitator forcleaning purposes, the upper end of the hub having a terminal handleknob provided thereon extending down to a water line just above theupper end of the fin.

Briefly, this improved agitator consists of an integrally cast base, hubextending vertically therefrom and partly thereto, a plurality of finsextending from the hub and the base, the fins merging smoothly with thebase but entering abruptly into the hub, each fin having a concavecenter at about the middle of the edge between its upper and lower endswith convex portions connecting the concave portions to the hub and tothe base, the base having a down-turned peripheral edge, the edges ofthe fins being entirely within the upwardly projecting'cylinder from thebase peripheral edge, the base being in the form of a shallow hollowcone with its under surface following the contour of its upper surface,thus providing recesses on its under surface below the attachment to thefins, the entire agitator being made in a single integral casting ofsome light weight material as aluminum or the like.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention comprisesthe combination, construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter setforth, claimed and disclosed in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the washing machine agitator of thisinvention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig.3 is a partly elevational and partly sectional view, on a largerscale, on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a fin on line 44 of Fig. 3.

There is shown at 10 the washing machine agitator of this inventionwhich may be cast integrally in a single piece, preferably of aluminumor other light weight material. The agitator 10 consists of a shallowcone-like hollow base 11 having a peripheral down-turned edge 12.Extending upwardly through the base 11 at 13 is a central hub 14 whichis hollow as at 15 and terminates at its upper end in a handle knob 16above a water line 17 and provided with a cap 18 centrally apertured asat 20. Adjacent where the hub 14 emerges from the base 11, the hub iscentrally apertured as at 21, the apertures 21 in the hub and the centeraperture 20 in the terminal cap 18 permitting the hub to be easilyplaced on or removed from the washing machine rotary-oscillatory shaftso that it may be easily cleaned and replaced by the operator. As hereshown, there are two pairs of oppositely disposed radial fins 22 whichintegrally extend abruptly from the hub 14 as at 23 and merge graduallyas at 24 integrally into base 11. A tapered bead 25 is provided alongthe edge of the fin 22 extending from the hub 14 to the base 11, andthis beaded edge 25 adjacent the hub 14 and the base 11 is provided witha convex curvature such as at 26 adjacent the hub, and at 27 adjacentthe lower base end, and intermediate these two convex curvatures 26 and27 there is provided an intermediate concave curvature 28. It will befurther noted that the edge of the fins 22 are entirely within thecylinder projected upwardly from the peripheral down-turned edge 12.

It will be observed from Fig. 3 that the under surface 30 of the basefollows the contour of the upper surface thereof, and, as stated above,that the fin 22 merges smoothly at 24 into the upper surface of the base11, and the under surface 30 thereof merges into a recess 31 below eachfin 22.

Each fin 22 is provided with a plurality of apertures 32 therein,apertures 32 being beveled on opposite sides as at 33.

As a result as the particular construction and shape as thus described,there is provided an agitator that is much more efficient in itsrotary-oscillatory washing action, and it has been found in actualpractice that when this particular agitator is substituted in place of aconventional agitator, the washing time is cut in half or less, thusdoubling the efiiciency of the washing machine and enabling more thantwice as many loads of clothes to be washed in a given period of time.

While the device has been shown and the structure described in detail,it is obvious that this invention is not to be considered as beinglimited to the exact form disclosed, and that changes in detail andconstruction may be made therein within the scope of what is claimed,without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, whatis claimed is:

An agitator for washing machines comprising a onepiece member formedwith a shallow cone-like hollow base having a down-turned peripheralbeaded edge, a central hollow hub extending upwardly through and frombelow said base and terminating in a handle knob, a centrally aperturedcap on said terminal knob, said hub being oppositely apertured adjacentits lower end between each of said fins, a plurality of pairs ofoppositely disposed radial fins integrally extending abruptly from saidhub and merging smoothly from said base above said down-turnedperipheral edge, a tapered head on the edge of each fin extending fromsaid hub to said base, said References Cited in the file of this patentUNITED STATES PATENTS Maus Nov. 12, Jackson Dec. 6, Holland Feb. 14,Altorfer Mar. 7, Janda May 23, Bremer Mar. 26, Benson Dec. 10, BloughSept. 12, Hartmann Jan. 6, Castricone Apr. 28,

FOREIGN PATENTS France May 7,

